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ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif left London late Sunday on a plane bound for Pakistan after almost eight years in exile, vowing to oust President Pervez Musharraf, an aide said.
Sharif's aides confirmed to AFP that the former leader was travelling on a Pakistan International Airlines flight direct to Islamabad, instead of via Muscat on Gulf Air.
"It's confirmed he's on PIA, Pakistan International Airlines," said Sharif's personal secretary Imran Khan, who added that Sharif was travelling with about 150 people, including about 50 journalists.
Sharif was combative before leaving London, telling the private Geo television channel: "I am returning to my country to give a final push to a crumbling dictatorship.
"I am going back to my country with the resolve to rid my motherland of problems and lawlessness it is plunged into because of the policies of one man, General Pervez Musharraf."
His flight, which was initially due to arrive in Islamabad at 7:40 am (0240 GMT), left London's Heathrow Airport nearly two hours late at 2041 GMT, after an ambulance was called in because a passenger complained of chest pain, a Heathrow spokeswoman said.
Pakistan on Sunday put airports on high alert and detained hundreds of opposition activists as Sharif prepared to fly home.
Sharif, the man Musharraf ousted in a 1999 coup, has defied international appeals to stay away and could face immediate deportation to his Saudi Arabian home-in-exile or even be arrested on arrival.
The looming return of the two-time prime minister threatens to further destabilise the nuclear-armed Islamic republic ahead of key elections due in coming months, with the popularity of key US ally Musharraf flatlining.
Sharif's spokesman Nadir Chaudhri earlier told AFP: "His plan is to go back to play his role in Pakistani politics, which is his right. He's head of his own party. Elections are coming up. He will mobilise his party for those elections."
The Pakistani government on Sunday placed all major airports on high alert, an airport security official told AFP, amid speculation that Sharif may try to land somewhere other than Islamabad or be diverted by the government.
Former industrialist Sharif, 57, says he plans to lead a triumphal motorcade from Islamabad to Lahore, his family's power base -- recreating a procession by the country's top judge earlier this year when Musharraf tried to sack him.
"Nawaz Sharif should respect his commitment to the most revered Muslim country (Saudi Arabia) and its leadership and complete 10 years in exile," Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani said.
Sharif was sentenced to life in prison on tax evasion and treason charges but was released in December 2000 on condition that he and his family live in exile in Saudi Arabia for 10 years.
Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled last month that they could fly back.
Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief and the influential son of assassinated former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri at the weekend joined calls from Musharraf for Sharif to scrap his plans.
A senior Pakistani cabinet minister told AFP that the Saudi comments meant the government "now has the justification to send him back to Saudi Arabia if he defies the agreement and flies into Pakistan."
One Middle Eastern diplomat told AFP that the Saudis would support such a decision.
Another option is to arrest Sharif, whose terms in power from 1990-1993 and 1996-1999 were tainted by corruption claims.
Media reports say a cell in a centuries-old fort has been prepared for his possible arrival, but such an option risks sparking mass protests.
"He's not worried about that. He'll face any charges in court," said Sharif's spokesman.
With growing public support behind him, Sharif is a potential obstacle to a power-sharing deal that Musharraf is trying to reach with another former premier, Benazir Bhutto, which could see the president quit the army.
An apparently nervous administration has ordered a police crackdown against workers from Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party. Party leaders claim more than 2,000 have been arrested.
"Despite hurdles and the arrest of more than 2,000 people, our workers will reach the airport in large numbers," senior party official Saad Rafiq said.
Human Rights Watch called on Musharraf to immediately release the supporters.
Several dozen Sharif supporters staged a protest in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, on Sunday.
An anti-terrorism court Friday ordered the arrest of Sharif's brother, Shahbaz Sharif, in a murder case and the government asked another court to grant an arrest warrant for Nawaz on corruption charges.
- AFP/de/ir
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